Non-Fiction Young Adult

What is Non-Fiction for Young Adults?

Usually Young Adults fall into the age range of 12 to 18, but there is no specific non-fiction for just this age group. Most of the non-fiction will be found in either the juvenile or the adult sections of a library.

A definition of Non-Fiction:

All the information is verifiable. There has to be no fictional elements, if any part of the books is fiction, then the whole book becomes categorized as fictional. Non-fiction books are classified as biography and informational. Biography (and autobiography as well as memoir) tells the story or at least part of the story, of an actual person’s life. As will all non-fiction, reliable sources and documentation are imperative. (adapted from Children’s Literature, Briefly by Tunnel and Jacobs, 2008)

Types of Non-Fiction:

Dewey Decimal Classification System

General Guidelines Below

000 Generalities	100 Philosophy and psychology	200 Religion
010 Bibliography 020 Library & information sciences 030 General encyclopedic works 040 Unassigned 050 General serials & their indexes 060 General organizations & museology 070 News media, journalism, publishing 080 General collections 090 Manuscripts & rare books	110 Metaphysics 120 Epistemology, causation, humankind 130 Paranormal phenomena, occult 140 Specific philosophical schools 150 Psychology 160 Logic 170 Ethics (moral philosophy) 180 Ancient, medieval, Oriental philosophy 190 Modern Western philosophy	210 Natural theology 220 Bible 230 Christian theology 240 Christian moral & devotional theology 250 Christian orders & local church 260 Christian social theology 270 Christian church history 280 Christian denominations & sects 290 Other & comparative religions
300 Social sciences	400 Language	500 Natural sciences & mathematics
310 General statistics 320 Political science 330 Economics 340 Law 350 Public administration 360 Social services; associations 370 Education 380 Commerce, communications, transport 390 Customs, etiquette, folklore	410 Linguistics 420 English & Old English 430 Germanic languages German 440 Romance languages French 450 Italian, Romanian languages 460 Spanish & Portuguese languages 470 ltalic languages, Latin 480 Hellenic languages, Classical Greek 490 Other languages	510 Mathematics 520 Astronomy & allied sciences 530 Physics 540 Chemistry & allied sciences 550 Earth sciences 560 Paleontology, paleozoology 570 Life sciences 580 Botanical sciences 590 Zoological sciences
600 Technology (applied sciences)	700 The arts	800 Literature & rhetoric
610 Medical sciences and medicine 620 Engineering & allied operations 630 Agriculture 640 Home economics & family living 650 Management & auxiliary services 660 Chemical engineering 670 Manufacturing 680 Manufacture for specific uses 690 Buildings	710 Civic & landscape art 720 Architecture 730 Plastic arts, sculpture 740 Drawing & decorative arts 750 Painting & paintings (museums) 760 Graphic arts, printmaking & prints, postage stamps 770 Photography & photographs 780 Music 790 Recreational & performing arts	810 American literature 820 English & Old English literatures 830 Literatures of Germanic languages 840 Literatures of Romance languages 850 Italian, Romanian literatures 860 Spanish & Portuguese literatures 870 Italic literatures, Latin 880 Hellenic literatures, Classical Greek 890 Literatures of other languages
900 Geography & history
910 Geography and travel 920 Biography, genealogy, insignia 930 History of the ancient world 940 General history of Europe 950 General history of Asia, Far East 960 General history of Africa 970 General history of North America 980 General history of South America 990 General history of other areas

How to Select Quality Non-Fiction:

Is the content accurate, current, and clear?
Is there an unbiased presentation and perspective?
Does the writing have a tone that is NOT didactic and preachy?
Is there a distinction between fact and conjecture?
Is the content well-organized?
Are the style and tone appropriate for the content and audience?
What are the qualifications of the author?
Does the book have a table of contents, index, glossary, timeline, or other organizers that help make the content accessible?
Is there a useful index?
Is the information up to date with current research and documentation?
Is there evidence of research-bibliographies, notes, suggestions for further reading, and mention of internet sites, or keywords for searching?
Are the illustrations appropriate, attractive, accurate, with appropriate (and correct) captions?
Id the book design appealing with attractive borders, crisp and uncluttered pages, readable, and appropriate type-face, features such as symbols and sidebars?